Process of making alcohol-reduced beverages.



H( HEUSER. PRocEss OFM/mms ALCOHOL REDUCED BEVER/55s.

APPLICATION FiLED FEB. 24. 1917- Patented' Dea. 3, 1918,'

me j

lat

lill

hlt

recense or manine aLcorron-nnnucnn Bnvnnasns.

lltdtlilii @riginal application tiled November 25,

fl" all whom, t may concern.'

lie itlrnovvn that l, HERMAN l-lnUsEiz, a citizen vof the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ot llllinois, have invented certain neWand useful improvements in Processes of Making liflrlcohol-llteduced Beverages, of Whichethe following vis a specification, reference .being had therein to the accompanying dravving.

My invention relates tothe manufacture ot' alcohol-reduced beverages, and in partisular to a neiv and iinprovedprocess for the removal or reduction ot the alcohol in any hind of alcoholic beverages. This process consists lbroadly speaking in'vspreading a charge of the alcoholic beverage in a flowing tilm or sheet on a verticalvlor inclined boiling sone oan evapcrater.,` preferably a vacuum pan, continuously'llotring the beverage in a sheet or hlm over-theliboiling Zone and transmitting to each successive portion of the beverage inthe tilmvdovvingin said Zone the large volumeotu he'at'contained in steam in the form oi? latent heat to momentarily boil the' beverage in said zone and instantaneously reduce its alcoholic content.

ln the ordinary practices the. dealcoholiration ot beverages proceeds at a very slovv1 rate and the beverage is exposed to the heating medium for a long time, varying :trom several minutes to many hours; this is objectionable and disadvantageous because in dealcoholizing beer (for example) its quality as a beverage decreases in accurate proportion to the increase in time used for the evaporation ort the alcohol., and the decrease in quality increases with the increase in time more rapidly at higher temperatures in the beverage than at lower temperatures. lin the case et beer prolonged boiling, and particularly at high temperatures, imparts to the dealcoholi'aed beer a' Well-known disagree! able taste and odor, and large quantitiesp'li its albuminoids are precipitated whereby the tull-bodiness ot the beer and its ability to malte foammare impaired. By my invention the beverage While it is doiving in a thin tilin or sheet is exposed to the quick boiling action of the large Quantity or volume of heat contained in steam in the torni of latent heat which is instantaneously and continuitil Specication ot Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.. 3., 19in..

1916, Serial No..133,ti06. Divided and this application filed February 211, 1917. `berial No. 150,641. i

osure of the beverage tothe boiling action i is so momentary or restricted in time that the characteristics or quality of the beverage isnot aii'ected no matter hoW high the bo'iling temperature'in the Hovving film may be, and then the alcohol-reduced beverage flowsat once out of the boiling zone and away from any detrimental temperature that mayy be present'therein.' rlhe deleterious effectsV from prolonged boiling in prior processes are thus ,eliminated by my invention which preserves in vthe dealcoholized liquid the original characteristics or qualities present before'the alcohol content is reduced as to taste, odor, full-bodiness and ability to make foam. 'Also my invention practically eliminates the formation of foam orfroth in the alcohol-reducing process, Which has'long been adicult problem to solve as it seriously and` obstinately interferes With the customary boiling heretofore' employed in 'the distillation of alcohol for th'e manuiac# ture ot alcohol-reduced beer, because in boil ing 'loam-producing beverages the formation of loam increases With reductions in the boiling temperature or increases in vacuum, but as my invention maires possible the use of high temperatures Without injury to the beverage it diminishes the foam to .a negligible quantity that does not interfere *with the carrying out of the process. IlWhileV the beer foams slightly at the discharge on the heating surface from the disengagement ot CO2. the foam subsides `during its passage through the boiling zone; and so is entirely dealcoholized like-the rest of the beverage. Similarly. the volume of vapor arising from boiling beverages, such as. beer, increases With reductions in the boiling temperature or increases in vacuum. excessively largev volumes ot rarelied vapor being thus produced at low temperatures. for instance at beer-preserving temperatures, but as kmy invention enables the dealcoholimtion to .take place at high temperatures without injury to the beverage itincreases the density ot the vapor and so greatly reduces its volume, and thereby malres it possible to use apparatusof smaller size to reduce the eX- pense of its construction, installation and operation.

roo

ln the accompanying drawings the figure `represents an apparatus suitable to carry out my 'process` the view being partly in section and partly in elevation.

f ln the drawing the reference numeral 1 'indicates the evaporating chamber of a steam jacket 9, and the bottom With a separate steam jacket 10; the jackets do not communicate With each other, and each is provided with a number` of steam inlets. The steam inlets are arranged -in banks or units, the banks for the shell acket being at different levels and numbered respectively 11, 12 and 13, and the bank for the bottom jacket being numbered 14. The steam-inlets of each bank are connected to the same ringshaped header, the inlets 11 to header 15, inlets 12 to a headerl16, inlets 13 to a header 17, and inlets 14 to a header 18, and each of the units can be independently operated as its supply pipe leading from the source of steam supply 19 has a control-valv'e, these valves being numbered 20, 21, 22 and 23, respectively. rlhis unit arrangement of steam inlets effects a uniform distribution of the steam, and the spaced arrangement of the units along the length of the chamber enables me to use them separately or in series as desired to increase or decrease the Zone of evaporation. To increase the uniformity of the steam diffusion or distribution the various inlets are laterall perforated at their terminals in the j ac ets in such a Way that the steam does not lioW directly against the inner Wall, but is discharged parallel to the Wall and diffuses and spreads out between the Walls. The steam jackets are provided With condensedsteam pipes 24 to carry the condensation to `trap 25.

In the upper portion of the chamber, preferably on the level with the rim of its shell and close to the shell, an annular spray -rpipe 26 is placed parallel to the rim, and

is provided With numerous small lateral perforations 27 on its outer periphery pointing to the shell. The pipe 26 is connected by branch feed pipes 28 having valves 29 and leading to the supply pipe 30, Which is equipped with a valve 31 and leads to the storage tank 32 of the fermented beverage to be treated.

The central lower portion of the bottom of the chamber communicates with the receiver 33 for the alcohol-reduced beverage by means -of discharge pipe 34 equipped with valves 35 and 36. The pipe section betvveenthe valves 35 and 36 is provided With a spigot 37 for taking samples during the process, after the two valves have been maaar@ shut during the time the sample is being taken. The receiver 33 communicates With the vacuum pump 5 by a pipe 38 equipped With valves 39 and 40. The top of the pan is provided with the usual bulls eyes for the insertion of the electric lights, and with the observation glasses and the manhole door, Which are not shown in the drawing. lf desired the vapor pipe 2 may be provided With a separator 41 for particles of beverage carried out by the vapor, which is provided with a valved return pipe 42 leading back to the chamber. The condenser may have the usual barometrieal discharge tube 43.

If desired the storage tank. 32 may be provided With air valves 45 and 46, and the receiver 33 with air valves 47 and 48, for admitting or venting air.

The processis carried out as follows in the illustrated device Valves 39 and 40 of pipe 38 and valves 35 and 36 of pipe 34 are opened, and the vacuum pump and condenser are put in operation, and when the desired vacuum has been obtained in the system some or all of the steam-valves 20, 21, 22, and 23 are opened together with valve 31 in the beverage-supply line. Thus simultaneously with the entrance of the live steam into the jack- I ets 9 and 10, beer (for example) from tlu` storage tank 32 enters through the supplyY pipes into the annular distributing pipe 26, being drawn into the latter by suction as the vacuum in the pan is large enough to lift the beer sufficiently for this purpose. rlhc distributing pipe 26 emits or discharges the beer in the direction of the arrows and distributes it uniformly in a liowing film or sheet over the interior surface of the chamber. During the flow of the beer along the shell and dished bottom the steam is diffused or distributed in the steam jackets and uniformly and instantaneously gives off its latent heat to the beer which is thus kept in a state of boiling, changing the beer into vapors in proportion as the steam condenses. The pressure steam, Whether live or exhaust, is of course of higher temperature than the beverage to 'be boiled, and is kept in a state ot' instantaneous and continuous condensation by the condensing surface afforded by the Wall of the evaporator, whereby the large volume of heat contained in it as latent heat is instantaneously and continuously liberated and transmitted to the successive the {iovving film so that exposure of each suo nascere ing the alcohol arise, they are carried ofi' H through tube 2 and at their arrival in condenser they are condensed and then discharged through any suitable barometrical tube attached to the bottom of the condenser. 'lihe dealcoholized beer at its arrival at the base of the bottom of the pan flows through pipe 34 into the receiver 33, Where it is held under vacuum until the des-ired quantity of beer has been dcalcoholized. The discharge or tiow of the beer from the pan proceeds Without interruption, even When it is so large that the pipe 34. is filled With beer, be-

' cause the vacuum in the receiver 33 is kept up to the proper point through the pipe 38, and any diderence in vacuum in the pan and receiver would be in favor of the vacuum in the receiver being slightly higher than the vacuum in the pan on account of the absence of evaporation in the receiver and its fast from the storage tank into the pan, and

'the lower tivo units may be closed during the process. But if the dow of beer to the pan is increased one or both of the other steam units may be used. Whenthe beer is to be completely dealcoholized the third unit from' header 17 is also used, and to insure that no trace of alcoholl is left in the alcoholreduced beer the bottom unit from header 18 is likewise put in operation. Vvhen only thesteam units of the shell-jacket are used, thebottoni ot the pan is not in the evaporating zone. Y

'lhe utilization of the vacuum in the pan for the purpose of furnishing `the power for l supplying the beverage to the pan is of advantage as the flow of beer into the pan stops the moment the vacuum in the pan is broken. There are many reasons Why this latter may happen, and'vvhen it happensany further entrance'ot the beverage into the pan would be not only1 purposeless -but aiso tht detrimental to the beverage., because it Will not be dealcoholized and therefore Will increase the alcohol content'of the beverage in the receiver.

From time to time during the process a sample may be taken from spigot 37 and tested as to its reduction in alcohol, and as the taking of a sample from the section of the discharge pipe 34C between th'e valves 35 and 36 requires only a momentary closing of these valves it will not interfere with the substantial continuity of the process and may be done frequently without danger to the beverage.

While in ordinary practice the dealcoholization of beverages proceeds at a very slow rate, by the present invention it is very rapid, being in fact instantaneous in the beverage in the boiling zone, -Whether the 4beverage be Wholly or only partly dealcoholized, as the heat is instantaneously and uniformly` supplied to all portions of the active or used boiling-surface in the vacuum, and

as each successive portion of the beverage is thus -only momentarily exposed to the boiling actionits quality and characteristics are not impaired or a'ected even when the temperature in the boiling Zone is above those ordinarily detrimental to the beverage. For exam le, li have found in practising my` invention that the beverage is not impaired when the temperature in the flowing film of beverage in the boiling zone is at 212o Fahrenheit. 1 prefer to carry out my process ina vacuum pan in orderv to recover the alcohol, but it may be successfully practised in an open pan or evaporator.

' llt is advantageous to utilize the latent heat in the vapor to initially raise the temperature of the intlowing beverage as it is supplied to. the chamber, and for this purpose the beverage feed-pipe 30 passes into 'and along the vapor tube`2, being arranged in coils therein. rlhe vapors precipitated on the feed-pipe in the vapor tube flow as Water into the condenser to be discharged as Water togethervvvith the other condensations. For example, the heating of the beverage on its Way to the vacuum pan considerably decreases the amount of steam necessary for -boiling it, and as this heating is done by vapors arising from the boiling beverage a considerable saving in fuelV for the production of the steam and a considerable saving in Water necessary for precipitating the vapors in the condenser take place.

This application is a division of my companion a plication filed November'25, 1916, bearing erial Number 133,506 of the series of 1915.

1. The process of manufacturing alcoholreduced beverages which consists in continuously Flowing a charge of fermented beverage in a film through a boiling zone, and

lll@

lllii Mill t nsmitting to the beverage in the flowing film in the Zone the latent heat of steam to momentarily boil the beverage in said Zone and instantaneously evaporate alcohol from it.

2. The process of manufacturing alcoholreduced beverages, vwhich consists in flowing a charge of fermented beverage in a continuous film through a boiling zone in a vacuum, and in transmitting the latent heat of steam to the beverage in the flowing film to boil the beverage and reduce its alcohol content during its passage through said zone.

3. The process of manufacturing alcoholreduced beer, which consists in fleeing a charge of beer in a continuous over a boiling surface .of a vacuum panr'and in diffusing pressure steam over the opposite surface of said pan to boil the beer in the flowing film to reduce its alcohol content.

4. The process of manufacturing alcohol reduced beer7 iwhich consists in spreading a charge of beer on the upper end of the inner the pan for boilino' the beer in the flowing Vfilm to reduce its acohol content, and varying the area of the boiling zone by regulating the area of application of the steam lo the pan.

ln testimony whereof l my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERMAN H RUSH ll l/Vitnesses i ll. MGROBERTS, E. H. Wincor.

Il (l 

